1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing wheel discrimination apparatus which automatically discriminates types of printing wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Printers or typewriters using a printing wheel can print with various fonts by exchanging printing wheels. A control device installed in a printer or a typewriter must discriminate the type of font of the exchanged printing wheel. That is, in order to set optimum control conditions required for printing (e.g., an optimum printing pressure suitable for a font to be printed), the type of the mounted printing wheel must be determined.
In conventional methods for discriminating the type of a printing wheel, precise encoded data is recorded on a printing wheel, or short pulses from a reference position to a specific mark are counted for detecting the specific mark.
In this manner, in the conventional technique, precise machining technique and complicated hardware are required, and manufacturing cost undesirably increases.